So what would be your reaction if a favorite anime was made into live action?

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When an anime gets adapted into live-action (Japanese) it tends to get hilariously cheesy acting. I still remember the live-action Sailor Moon.

I would imagine that a live-action (Japanese) Madoka Magica or Nanoha would be much the same - Just incredible cheesy acting turning it into something of a self-parody. I suppose it might be good for a laugh, but I'm not sure if this is how I want to see some of my favorite anime characters.

As for Hollywood, its track record with anime (which is what is most pertinent here, imo) is a mixed bag at best. I'd like to see Hollywood effectively pull off something like Cowboy Bebop or Ghost in the Shell before it even considers something more culturally Japanese like Madoka Magica or Lyrical Nanoha.

The major problem with Japanses live action most of the time is its actors.

What I find hardest to take is the amount of "mugging" they do. I've watched two live-action adaptations of favorite shows from start to finish -- Nodame Cantabile and Bartender. I liked the adaptation of the original Nodame series, though some of the sight gags were difficult to watch. In particular there is a scene early in the live-action version where Nodame dashes toward Chiaki, and he redirects her momentum so she runs head first into a boulder. I wasn't too happy with Chiaki throwing a score in Nodame's face in episode one of the anime, so you can imagine how I felt about that scene in the live-action version.

Still I enjoyed the live-action version enough to watch the movie sequels. By the second film, though, I had reached my limits with Uena Juri's portrayal of Nodame. The mugging was simply too much to take. However I thought Tamaki Hiroshi did an excellent job portraying Chiaki, even if my daughter thought he wasn't handsome enough to play the role!

The live-action adaptation of Bartender is more of a mixed bag. The producers felt the need to up the romantic content of the story by creating a stronger relationship between Ryuu and Miwa than we see in the anime. (She has an obvious crush on Ryuu, but his professional discretion keeps him from acknowledging it or any feelings he might have for her as well.) In this case I enjoyed the anime more because it focused directly on the patrons' stories which are the heart and soul of this show. The Ryuu/Miwa relationship is a distraction.

My third venture into live-action adaptations lasted about half an episode. noitaminA decided to release Moyashimon as a live-action show after airing the anime a couple of years before. Once again it was the mugging that pushed me away. I knew before the first episode finished that I would not be able to watch this version and have not tried again since.

The only decent adaptation I've seen is the Death Note movies. Those actors were cast perfectly and they did it in a way that didn't come across as too cartoony.

xxxholic was okay though personally I didn't like Emo Watanuki and the girl who played Himawari too much. However, the actors for Domeki and especially Yuuko were spot on.

Ouran was total FAIL though. They made it waaaaaaaaaaay too cartoony. That seriously disappointed me.

The only anime series that I can see working in live action at the moment is UtaPri; hell, they can just cast whatever boyband is in at the moment in Japan or if it's set in the West, cast those kids from One Direction or whatever boygroup is in right now and BOOM there's a hit.

As for Hollywood, its track record with anime (which is what is most pertinent here, imo) is a mixed bag at best. I'd like to see Hollywood effectively pull off something like Cowboy Bebop or Ghost in the Shell before it even considers something more culturally Japanese like Madoka Magica or Lyrical Nanoha.

Cool-looking poster, but I wonder if it would do well as a live-action flick?

As a Hollywood film, it would probably be horrible. There's little chance that Titan will capture the imagination of a creative power player like Cameron, so it'll be reduced to being a cash-in project. If you're lucky, it'll be another Speed Racer, and if you're unlucky, it'll be another Dragonball Evolution.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Shyni

How is Madomagi all that culturally Japanese? Especially considering

Spoiler for Madoka Magica story thing:

that the story of Faust is a huge influence?

That tends to be my opinion as well.

I'd probably choose Clannad as the most obvious anime to make live action. However, I think Madoka could work with a high quality Hollywood production, just restore some of the Christian references that were obscured in the Japanese version. Heck, the Sayaka and Kyoko arc is basically an evangelical tale of sin and damnation, with the ending being a passion play.

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Evangelion Live Action wouldn't be feasible at this time especially given the current trends in Hollywood.

Trends can change on a dime, and the best chance for it to get made would be if Pacific Rim is a big hit. Hollywood likes to try to replicate the success of previous hits so another project about giant robots fighting off alien invaders would be given a boost.

Of course, this is subject to any legal issues being ironed out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sackett

That tends to be my opinion as well.

I'd probably choose Clannad as the most obvious anime to make live action. However, I think Madoka could work with a high quality Hollywood production, just restore some of the Christian references that were obscured in the Japanese version. Heck, the Sayaka and Kyoko arc is basically an evangelical tale of sin and damnation, with the ending being a passion play.

Hollywood isn't going to see any money in any of this, so none of these projects are going to see much (if any) money. Taiwan and Korea are interested in shows pairing off pretty boys with pretty girls, so you won't see much interest there either. The most likely adaptations is probably a cheap Japanese TV show.

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I'm talking relatively, here. Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell are not at all outside "the American experience". Their major protagonists are very much in-line with what you tend to see for major protagonists in action/sci-fi Hollywood movies.

Kaname Madoka? Much less so.

I'm certainly not saying there's no chance that Hollywood could do a decent Madoka live-action film, but I'd like to see it handle something relatively easy (for its sensibilities) first.

As for Attack on Titan - After watching five episodes of that, I think a streamlined version of the story could work well in Hollywood movie format. You'd have to give Eren and Mikasa more witty lines, and maybe create a hot, steamy romance somewhere, but the rest of it is very compatible with modern Hollywood sensibilities when it comes to action movies. Heck, Episode 3 is like a "boot camp with an overbearing drill sergeant" scene taken straight out of a Hollywood movie focusing heavily on the US military.

And in fact, Hollywood might be overdue for another "big monster" movie.

You mean aside from Pacific Rim? I hear that Guillermo del Toro may have some familiarity with anime.

Yeah, I think that Pacific Rim shows that there might be some hunger out there for "big monster" movies in the Godzilla/King Kong-vein. Attack on Titan could very easily be a movie like that in live-action.

Of course, if your measuring stick is Shyamalan's Avatar, the Hollywood's take on a boardgame like Battleship, and Bayformers, anything Hollywood would look terrible. On the other hand, USA have produced The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, not to mention The Shield, The Wire and various series that suffered from being on Fox, like Sarah Connor Chronicles or The Tick.

Hollywood is not as bad as people makes it to be.

Well given that my favourite anime series is Precure, I don't know how Hollywood can adapt a type of show like that without making it awful or awkward atleast.

Of course, if your measuring stick is Shyamalan's Avatar, the Hollywood's take on a boardgame like Battleship, and Bayformers, anything Hollywood would look terrible. On the other hand, USA have produced The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, not to mention The Shield, The Wire and various series that suffered from being on Fox, like Sarah Connor Chronicles or The Tick.

Hollywood is not as bad as people makes it to be.

Even so I don't really trust Hollywood with Evangelion and/or any other anime. While the mecha does play a role in Eva, the meat of the story is basically the psychological problems that the characters have as well as the deconstruction of anime tropes in general. I don't if the West ready for a character like Shinji but then agian neither was Japan when it came out.